When I was little, my parents, Brazilian/Japanese and Portuguese, used to take us to our family friend’s house. They were also Brazilian, Portuguese. So, our Christmases were always full of the wonderful aroma of Brazilian and Portuguese food. Rice was the central staple of every meal, paired with a vegetable dish, various meat dishes, pasta, potatoes, salads and desserts. I’d like to share some of my favorite Brazilian Recipes on Christmas.
Nowadays, it’s me, my three grown kids, my mom, my sister and her four grown kids on Christmas. The ten of us like to get together and replicate those delicious dishes at Christmas. This week, I will cook each one and post photos as I go. Here is my list of favorites:
Brazilian Style Rice (Arroz)– You can use any type of rice, Jasmine, Long Grain, Brown, Calroze. A Brazilian dinner is not complete without rice. We eat rice every day, but on Christmas, we will add a few things to flavor it up.
This is the rice cooker I use- Available on Amazon!
Ingredients
2 cups of washed rice (whatever type you choose), 1/2 finely chopped onion, 1 diced tomato, 1 clove of crushed garlic, 2 teaspoon salt, 1 teaspoon cooking oil.
Directions
In a frying pan, brown the onions in the cooking oil. Add the garlic and tomato. Set aside.
In a rice cooker or pot, add water to the rice and wash it a few times. We measure the water level by putting our hand flat on the rice. The water should come to just over the hand. Add the mixture in the pan, sprinkle the salt and parsley, and stir. Cover the rice and let it cook automatically, or for about 20 minutes over very low heat. After 20 minutes, you should have a hot tasty pot of tender seasoned rice.
I usually buy my veggies from the store, but I found some organic veggies on Amazon. I have not tried this yet, but here it is just in case you’d like to save a trip!
Hearty Organic Vegetable Box with Sweet Potatoes, Carrots, Red Skin Potatoes, Texas Sweet Onions, and Garlic From Organic Mountain
Beef Ribeye Roast– The difference is in the salt! This roast will melt in your mouth.
Rib Eye Roast 
Preparing the Roast
Ingredients
Garlic, cooking oil, pepper to taste, rock salt to taste, parsley, white zinfandel
In a bowl, crush the garlic, add pepper, finely chopped parsley, a little vegetable oil, and mix well into a paste. Poke it into the roast all around. Pour the cooking oil and white zinfandel over it and let it sit in the refrigerator overnight. The next day, preheat the oven to 450 degrees F. Cover the outside of the roast with some rock salt. Not too much, but just enough to lightly salt it. Place it on a baking pan and in the oven. Roast it at 450 for about 20 minutes. Then lower the heat to 250 F for the next 2 hours or so.
You want to be careful not to overcook it. Check it regularly until the crust looks sizzling and brown. Once you slice it, the inside should be a little pink. If anyone wants it well done, lightly brown it in a frying pan with the same ingredients. So delicious I’m getting hungry!
There are many rib-eye steaks on Amazon, but I would recommend getting it fresh from the butcher at your local farmer’s market where hopefully the animals are being farmed in a humane way.
Feijoada– This is the traditional “black bean stew” similar to gumbo without seafood. This is served over rice with finely sliced and quickly sautéed collard greens.
Ingredients:
Dried black beans, three garlic cloves, two bay leaves, pork parts (ham hocks and other parts you can find), salted pork, parsley, chili peppers, olives, two tomatoes, salt and pepper to taste.
- Soak the beans overnight in a pot.
- Drain the water from the beans. Add more water and begin boiling them on low heat.
- Sautee the ingredients in a frying pan, similar to the rice recipe above. You can even save part of the sauteed ingredients from the rice, and add it to the beans.
- Add the bay leaves
- Add the pork parts/salted pork and allow the beans to cook over low heat for several hours (2-3).
- Once the beans are tender and the pork meat is falling off the bones, smash some of the beans between two spoons to create a thicker sauce around the beans.
- Add salt to taste, pepper to taste and diced chilies to taste. Let it simmer about 15 more minutes.
- Serve over rice and enjoy!
Brazilian Style Potato Salad– American potato salad can be good, but Brazilian Style is delicious!
Ingredients: 2 sliced boiled eggs, 2 diced tomatoes, ~ 1/2 cup chopped parsley, 1 thinly sliced cucumber, 2 boiled and diced potatoes, 1 cup mayonnaise (I prefer Best Foods), about 1/4 cup chopped olives, 2 smashed garlic cloves, 1/2 cup olive oil, salt and pepper to taste. (All these measurements are approximate. Adjust to your taste).
Always Use Fresh Garlic! 
I love adding these olives to the potato salad 
Peel and dice the potatoes
Combine all vegetables besides the potatoes into a bowl. Mix. Add the potatoes and mix. Add mayonnaise, olive oil, eggs, and stir until well mixed. Add salt and pepper to taste.
This potato salad can be served freshly mixed, with the potatoes still warm, or saved in the refrigerator, and served cool the next day. However you serve it, it will be delicious!
And finally, I love our Brazilian soda, Guarana. There are several brands, but I like the Antarctica brand the best. Taken cold, over ice, this mild soda hits the spot. There’s no way to describe it, so you’ll just have to try it. I can tell you, everyone I know who has tried it always buys it again.
At the end of a meal, Brazilians like to have cafezinho, or a small cup of coffee to enjoy together over the final conversation of the night. You may find my recommendations for coffee in my blog, I LOVE COFFEE